


Part of Something Big

by zenonaa



Category: Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: F/M, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 12:32:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13681755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zenonaa/pseuds/zenonaa
Summary: "Normally, Byakuya could outrun her, but the rain set them on wet, slippery, even ground, and in any case, he would have been a lousy date if he left her at his heels, someone who worked their way through his defences and breathed a new strength into his core."Fukawa takes Togami on a date. The rain is an unwanted third wheel.





	Part of Something Big

Grey clouds splattered tears onto the bedroom window and howled relentlessly. Dressed in a lilac nightdress, Touko stood still, a silent spectator, protected from the storm’s outburst by a shield of glass.

The rain drowned out her sigh.

Touko turned away and padded over to her bed, which she clambered across in order to reach her phone, sat on her bedside table. Her bed creaked gently beneath her hands and knees, and it gave a final groan as she settled herself on one spot. She swiped her finger across the screen of her phone a few times until it started ringing, and then she held her phone to her ear.

A few seconds later, the ringing stopped with a click, and a voice emerged, quickly shedding itself of static.

“Let me guess, this is about the rain,” Byakuya’s voice said into her ear.

She hummed and sat back, crossing her legs.

“It won’t be an issue,” she assured him. “I planned several different dates, depending on different variables such as the weather.”

Not just weather, but public transport delays, natural disasters and zombie attacks. Her alter, Genocider Syo, had also promised in a conference done on post-it notes that she would not lash out for missing this day, never someone who was big on romance anyhow, with the assurance that she could have a day with Byakuya in the future where they would do ‘nothing too naughty’, and Byakuya had clarified that there would be ‘nothing naughty’ or else he would end their time prematurely. It was this sort of arrangement that had been set up when Touko and Byakuya became a couple, and one everyone agreed on. Even if Byakuya and Syo weren’t dating, they had to learn to get along.

Nothing would stop them from celebrating their first Valentine’s Day together. Nothing.

“I knew you would have contingency plans in hand,” he said, his tone teasing a smile. “So where, and when, will we be meeting up today?”

Her mind went blank for a moment.

“Lunch,” she blurted. She winced. “I mean... we’ll meet at lunch. And where I’m taking us, we’ll be inside, for both places, but bring a coat for the journey.”

“Do I get a hint on where we’re going?”

“Nope,” she chirped, and she wiggled her shoulders. “Both places are a surprise.”

“Oh?” he purred. Maybe it wasn’t a purr, but she gave it a pass. Whatever it was, he sounded interested. “Well, I’ll be the judge of that.”

“You won’t be disappointed,” she assured him.

The storm beat away silence.

“So I’ll come to your place a bit before noon,” she said. “Is that enough time for you to get ready?”

“Yes,” he said. “That will be fine. Very well. I shall see you then. Goodbye, Fukawa.”

“Bye, Darling. I love you.”

“I know.”

He hung up.

She stretched her arms upward and reclined onto her back.

The rain kept her company, for now, but that wasn’t to say she was lonely. Far from it, in fact. Their last conversation wrapped around her in a warm embrace. For a long time, she could barely string more than a couple of coherent sentences directed toward him, but now she found it easy. Very easy. Touko managed a few mouthfuls of cereal and a glass of orange juice, her stomach too full of butterflies to contain anything more.

After she had eaten, she sped through a shower and bound her hair into a single braid before approaching her wardrobe. Though she had spent several hours the previous day deciding on a final outfit, depending on which date they were going on, she probed her options again and ended up instead wearing a black dress with white lace covering the upper half, and a brown belt with a bow for aesthetics at the front that divided the lower part of her outfit from that above. She inspected her reflection in her bedroom from different angles. The longer she looked, the more her skin crawled, with anxiety or excitement or something, and she forced herself away to finish getting ready.

Nothing would go wrong. Nothing.

Just before Touko left her apartment, she checked her satchel to confirm that she had packed everything. Satisfied with the contents, she slipped on her coat, slung the strap of her satchel over one shoulder and hurried out.

Touko only had to cross the landing, and then she was outside of Byakuya’s apartment. She pressed the doorbell. When the door opened, she beamed like the Sun after a storm had tired itself out, but she couldn’t compare herself to how bright, how radiant he was, even without a smile.

“Good morning, Darling,” she gushed, bouncing her heels and keeping her hands clumped together over her chest.

“Good morning,” he greeted, looking snug in his dark green pea coat. “Let’s get this engagement started. Come, I will follow you. You’ll be leading us today.”

She saluted. “I won’t disappoint you!”

His lips quivered but he regained control of them within seconds, and he gave a short nod.

They took the elevator to the ground floor and through the doors, saw the downpour still going strong. Byakuya grimaced. Beside him, Touko hugged herself. The pair stepped out and as they passed through the doorway, he opened his plain black umbrella.

“Stay close,” he said.

Touko jerked her head up, arms still around herself. “Hm?”

“We’re going to have to run,” he said. “Where are we going?”

Her features hardened to an appropriate level for the severity of the situation, as grim as the weather. “The subway.”

Byakuya positioned the umbrella over their heads. Touko’s cheeks grew hotter but she maintained her composure. She trained her eyes forward and moments later, Byakuya darted out, and she chased after him, catching up and sticking to his side. Her heart set aflame as she battled against the gale opposing them. Normally, Byakuya could outrun her, but the rain set them on wet, slippery, even ground, and in any case, he would have been a lousy date if he left her at his heels, someone who worked their way through his defences and breathed a new strength into his core.

They definitely wouldn’t be able to have a picnic in the park, but at least Touko got to take shelter under the umbrella with him, and anyway, the picnic wasn’t out of the picture. Rain pounded against their umbrella and wind screamed to their faces, impairing their vision, and Byakuya’s umbrella began to strain. So it didn’t get blown inside out, Byakuya retracted it, and he grabbed Touko’s wrist. Her heart skipped and her feet tripped, but she regained her footing before she could fall, and she sprinted alongside him.

His hand slid down to her hand and her heart nearly broke out of her chest. Not so much because they were holding hands, as she had held his hand before, in private moments, and she had held the hands of some of her other friends, but more so because she was nearly out of breath. He only let go of her when confronted by the barriers in the subway.

Though the carriage that they hopped onto wasn’t cramped, they didn’t have much of a choice where to sit, ending up opposite each other. Touko collapsed onto her seat and panted, barely soothed by a soft fragrance of freshly washed linen.

According to the map on Byakuya’s side, they only had four stops, and she waited until one stop remained before she spoke again.

“We’re the next stop,” she told him quietly as the carriage resumed motion. He nodded, blond hair flattened by the rain.

Outside, grey sky greeted them but it had worn itself out and needed to recuperate, so for the time being, the pair were spared from its torrential rain. However, it remained just as cold, so by the time they arrived at their first destination, the air had given their faces a thorough nipping.

They escaped its clutches and once inside, Touko scraped hair from her eyes and rubbed her hands together. She had brought them to a café that she had only been to once prior to now, visiting a week ago to compare the location to the images on the website, and she had not been disappointed. Circular tables around the main area each had three chairs stationed at them, but the tables could fit another if desired. Pale green shelving units stood with their backs against white walls, carrying books with washed out covers, stacked horizontally behind front-facing books that were equally as dull.

Touko inhaled the café’s fusty odour, with its aging paper and whiff like stale cigarettes, and felt at ease. At home.

“What do you think?” asked Touko.

Byakuya’s head turned slowly as he absorbed his surroundings. He approached one of the shelves, still without saying anything, and plucked one of the books at the front from its place.

She raised her hand to bite on a nail but decided against it at the last moment. Her hand started to fall, but then she changed her mind again and lifted it so it hovered close to her chin, where she formed it into a loose fist.

“This is old,” he said, mostly to himself.

“They’re all second-hand,” she said behind him. Byakuya clicked his tongue.

“If anything catches my eye, I will have to flip through it to see if it’s in an acceptable condition.” He shut the book with a quiet thud but didn’t put it down. “I wouldn’t want to buy a book that has been smeared with hand sweat.”

Touko ground a foot against the varnishing flooring.

“Someone like you must never have had to choose to buy books second-hand,” she said.

He looked over his shoulder at her, his eyebrows raised. “As an author - a highly successful one at that - surely something inside of you must wither at the thought of owning a book that strangers have pawed at and mistreated.”

His statement stabbed and twisted in her gut. Her face screwed up a little and she hunched her shoulders. Byakuya stared for a while longer, frowning.

“I said something inappropriate,” he deduced. She averted her gaze.

“It’s fine,” she said.

“You know, you’ve never been good at hiding your emotions around me.” Byakuya didn’t bother replacing the book and walked over to a nearby table. He set the book in front of him, giving Touko strong eye contact, and folded his arms over his chest. “Tell me about what draws you to these sorts of places, so I can understand.”

She didn’t want to do that, or say anything, but then he said,

“Please.”

Byakuya gestured to the table by him. Touko sidled onto one of the chairs and pulled out a laminated menu from its slot in a wooden holder, not with the intention to use it to order food yet, but to fidget with. Give her hands something to do. He sat opposite her and rested his chin on the back of his hand, waiting for her to speak.

So she spoke.

“Places like this feel homely to me. Modern bookstores don’t feel like a bookstore but just an imitation, selling toys and trinkets too. And new books don’t really have a smell. Well, they do, but when they do, it’s plastic. Old books have a different scent,” she said. The menu in her hands listed different foods and drinks, but she didn’t read any of them. She just looked at them. “They’re musty and a first instinct for many people is to retract, but there’s something enticing about the scent. To me, at least, they smell soft and sweet... like chocolate.”

A small smile developed on her face that could have flaked off.

“Sometimes, I find books that are out of print or are obscure, and wouldn’t be stocked in most places,” she added. Her eyes flitted up to his blue pair. “People can leave things inside of them too, like love letters and notes that are secrets to everyone but whoever wrote them. It’s like treasure.”

Byakuya didn’t move, his mouth slightly ajar as he studied her. She shivered and he seemed to ease into a faint smile that she returned ten times stronger. All they needed was a candle between them and some violin music, and the scene would be perfect. No. It was fine as it was. Already perfect. He lifted his chin off his hand and closed his mouth only to open it again, perhaps to say something. His pause drew her in, and she didn’t dare breathe and miss what he said.

Then a waitress intruded on their intimate moment.

“Excuse me, are you ready to order?” asked the waitress, dressed in a black t-shirt and trousers.

Touko scowled.

“We were talking,” grumbled Touko.

The waitress squirmed a little.

“Oh, I am so sorry. I’ll come back in a few minutes,” said the waitress, and she started to turn.

“No.” Byakuya flung up a hand. The waitress froze. “We’ll order now. Fukawa, you first.”

Touko adjusted her hold on the menu and read it properly.

“A cream cheese and cucumber sandwich, a croissant and hot chocolate,” she decided. She passed the menu to Byakuya, whose eyes flickered as he skimmed through his options.

“I’ll have a prawn tempura box and a coffee,” he said, and he returned the menu to its slot in the holder.

The waitress nodded and bowed politely. “I’ll have your order with you soon.”

Neither Byakuya nor Touko spoke until the waitress had left.

“I will compare this book to your hot chocolate,” he told Touko and he picked up the book that he had placed in front of him. “But are you really telling me that you don’t mind if a book has been mistreated?”

Touko furrowed her brow.

“It bothers me when people don’t respect books. You were right about that.” She glanced away. Her heart felt like it had grown, threatening to bloat in her chest and tear through it. “However... sometimes... it’s not like that. A leftover bookmark, a small tear in someone’s favourite page, fingerprints and a bent spine... they can indicate how much someone pored over a book. But sometimes...”

What she wanted to say next weighed too much to leave her lips.

“... sometimes not,” he prompted.

“Yeah,” she said. Her posture stooped. “But even so, that doesn’t mean they can’t be loved by someone else. Someone who can appreciate them.”

“I see,” Byakuya replied quietly, seeming to realise that what she said didn’t just apply to books. “After we’ve eaten, we can see what else this store has to offer. Who knows, we might find something of value after all.”

A short time later, the waitress returned with their order. Touko picked up her sandwich.

“Wait,” he said, and she obeyed. He reached over and took the sandwich from her. “I wish to feed you.”

She twinkled at him and savoured every bite.

After their meal, they investigated the shelves around them, drifting apart as they searched for different genres. Her favourite was romance, but she didn’t seek out that section. The store stocked several detective novels and as one of their shared passions was for literature, she had a good idea of what he had already read, even if they didn’t have the same taste, and where his preferences lay. While Byakuya was distracted, browsing somewhere else, she examined an Agatha Christie novel called _The Murder of Roger Ackroyd_ and thought back to an animated discussion they had one time about it.

Memories nurtured a smile and she tucked it under her arm. Touko rummaged some more and found _And Then There Were None,_ but she decided against purchasing it, and opted for a slightly tatty copy of _The ABC Murders_ instead _._ She hunted around, seeing what other authors’ works were available, and didn’t pay attention to any footsteps that must have crept up to her.

“I wonder what you’re doing here,” Byakuya mused, behind Touko all of a sudden.

Touko jumped and hugged the books to her chest, trying to cover them as much as she could with her arms.

He peered over her shoulder and though he couldn’t see what she had chosen, he could still look at the books in the shelving unit that she stood in front of.

“Hm? Detective fiction?” said Byakuya. “That’s rather different, isn’t it? I wonder...”

His breath smelled faintly of coffee and warmed her ear.

“... is it something for me?” he asked.

Touko shifted a bit. “Yes and no...”

Byakuya’s breathing hitched with interest, subtle, but she had always been good at picking up subtle movements. Telltale signs. She smirked.

“Are you going to tell me what you’re buying?” he asked, resting his hands on her shoulders. Touko’s skin tingled, but she didn’t relent.

“This doesn’t have anything to do with Valentine’s Day,” she said, puffing out her chest. “Like I said, I already had everything arranged prior to today. I wouldn’t buy you something so late on...”

He had already read the books in her arms, but they weren’t for him to read. They were for her to use for research, for when she wrote him a short mystery novel for his birthday in a few months.

“So why is part of your answer ‘no’?” he asked.

Touko twisted around, grinning.

“You’ll have to wait, Darling,” she said, and she tapped him on the nose.

Byakuya tried, and failed, to not pout. She restrained a giggle and noticed a book wedged under his armpit.

“What did you find?” she asked.

“If I was in a petty mood, I wouldn’t show you,” he said. He pulled it out and revealed a book that sucked her lips into a surprised ‘o’ shape.

“That’s...” She adjusted her glasses. “... _So Lingers the Ocean._ ”

Her gaze bounced between his face and the book.

“I wrote that,” she said.

“I read many of your works years ago, and I don’t own any copies of them. With this, I’ll be able to refresh myself on your earlier writing,” he explained, giving the book a small shake.

Touko gave a low, pitiful mewl and held onto the sides of her head.

“What I can write now is far superior to that stilted, repetitive prose,” she whined, and she gripped her head tighter to help resist the urge to snatch it away. “If I was to read it again, I would rewrite all of it. Don’t trouble yourself with it...”

“It won’t trouble me. I look forward to being able to see the improvement,” he replied. “And remember, it’s possible to improve on what is already good.”

At the counter, they made their purchases separately, but they left the store together. The weather had become morose again and rain chased them to the subway station, where for half an hour, they found respite. After that, they reunited with the budding storm, and Byakuya hurried after Touko with his head tilted slightly downward.

On a clearer day, he would have seen where they had gone before they arrived at the flight of stone steps leading up to the location, but even as they ascended, him shielding his glasses with one hand while she did the same ahead of him, when she glanced back, she saw that his eyes were narrowed with uncertainty.

They passed through a set of double doors. In the dry warmth, he wiped his glasses and found his bearings, and looking around, worked out where he was.

“A space museum,” he announced, peering over at the wall behind the tickets counter, which was covered in space-related words printed in silver text, like ‘SHUTTLE’, ‘LEADERSHIP’ and ‘ASTRONOMY’.

“You’re right, Darling,” she said as they walked over to the counter, which was under a sign that said in loud, black font, ‘ADMISSION’. They ignored how the attendant wrinkled his nose at their damp attire. “You mentioned being interested in visiting this place, and as it’s indoors, I thought it would be ideal for a rainy day.”

“I did mention it once. You made a wise decision,” Byakuya remarked, and he couldn’t help but smile, though his couldn’t outshine hers.

Excitement bubbled in Touko’s chest as she bought their tickets, spending extra so they could go to the planetarium later and watch one of the shows. It was the planetarium that she looked forward to most, but for the next two hours, she nonetheless enjoyed herself by Byakuya’s side as they explored the different exhibits.

The first involved a circular screen built into the floor, on which they could watch the Big Bang. Touko gripped the rail around it, lightly touching her arm against Byakuya’s as the footage played.

Of course, while she had never been big on the sciences at school, she had been near the top of her classes for all subjects except physical education, and it didn’t take a genius to work out that this was only a reconstruction. Streaks of blue gathered into a cluster of white light that eventually exploded, sending flecks of cool tones everywhere while a calming voice narrated the event. She knew enough to follow along, and she glanced at Byakuya several times during the video. He observed the screen, listening with impenetrable features.

When the film restarted, Byakuya moved onto another exhibit. Touko tagged along beside him, her hands clasped together. They wound through different hallways, stopping and starting as Byakuya perused various information boards that she read alongside him. Neither said much, but she didn’t mind.

One of the rooms was dedicated to the Moon. She perked up and pointed at an exhibit that caught her eye.

“Byakuya-sama, they have an exhibit where you can walk on the Moon,” she said, vibrating, already imagining them floating around in zero gravity, where the only solid thing to hold onto was each other’s hands.

“I doubt it’ll be very authentic,” he said, eyeing the sign and what appeared to be two hopscotches drawn onto the ground, but he went over to investigate.

“Hello,” said a female attendant, dressed smartly. “Would you like to see what it’s like to walk on the Moon?”

“Yes, yes, we would,” said Touko impatiently, beside Byakuya.

The female attendant helped them into some harnesses that hung from the ceiling, dangling above the start of a different hopscotch. She received several glares from Touko while she fixed Byakuya’s straps, and when they were secured in, the attendant walked over to what appeared to be a control panel.

“All right, just go down the hopskotch and land by the flag at the end,” said the woman, motioning to the other side of the room. “On your marks... Get set... go!”

Until them, Touko hadn’t realised that they had been pitted together and she gasped, but Byakuya took it in his stride and bent his knees. He leaped forward and gradually sank back down, ready for his next jump.

To float, they needed to lift their legs, and to return to the ground, they were required to arrange themselves into a sitting position. Touko didn’t know if this was what astronauts really did in space to get around, but she couldn’t prove nor disprove it, so she sprung into the air to pursue Byakuya, abiding by the rules laid out by the attendant.

She yelped as she was levered up, and she shot an icy look at the attendant, who responded only with a toothy grin. The straps of the harness dug into Touko’s thighs and she flailed her legs, searching for something to land on, but the ground didn’t come any closer to her.

“Move into a sitting position,” said the attendant, pressing buttons and twitching joysticks.

“I know!” Touko snapped, and only when she complied did she lower to the ground. Every step that they placed left a visible footprint on the ground, which had been designed to resemble the Moon. She huffed and continued forward despite how futile victory was, because no matter how much she strained herself to try to reach Byakuya, she knew that the attendant was messing with her.

Byakuya soared over to the other end of his hopscotch first and waited for Touko to wriggle across to him. By the time she landed beside him, heat had blown up her face a brilliant pink, and she bit her tongue as the attendant freed them for their nylon bondage. Touko refused to give the attendant the satisfaction of knowing that she worked her way under Touko’s skin.

“That was... something,” said Byakuya. He pushed up his glasses. “How long is it until we are due at the planetarium?”

She retrieved her phone from her satchel. “A little over an hour.”

“We’re at a good pace then,” he said. “Come. Let us see what else this museum possesses.”

The attendant smiled at them with what, to certain people, or a certain person, could have been perceived as a smirk, and with a burst of confidence, Touko linked her arm with Byakuya’s. He didn’t shake her off and she beamed, twisting the shape of her lips into an indubitable smirk that she aimed at the woman, who soon busied herself with a family of four.

They progressed through the rest of the museum in this fashion. With her free arm, Touko checked her phone at intervals, keeping an eye on the time.

“Are you expecting a call?” asked Byakuya next to an exhibit of spacesuits, all contained behind glass, after she fumbled with her phone when there were forty minutes to spare.

Touko shook her head and switched the screen off. “I’m just making sure we don’t overrun, Darling.”

“So it’s not because I’m boring you?” he asked, and her reading of his lips wavered between a smirk and a frown.

“No!” Touko promised, cringing as her voice echoed through the vast hall. “I’m... I’m really enjoying myself.”

Her face was warm.

“I hope you are too,” she said, quieter.

He looked away and didn’t answer immediately. She kept staring and their eyes met again.

“I am,” he confirmed, and she relaxed.

Touko felt lighter than she had at the moonwalk exhibit. Every footstep bounced underneath her for the remainder of their visit until the show began. They arrived ten minutes early and were ushered into the theatre with a small crowd of people. At one end of the theatre were rows of formal blue chairs, but opposite them were rugs disguised as grass lawn with fake shrubs for cushions, as well as soft, white cloud sofas. Byakuya and Touko opted for one of the sofas and reclined, staring up at the domed ceiling.

The general lighting dimmed. Violin music sang out, and then the theatre’s lighting snuffed out completely. Touko felt a tug in her chest and grasped Byakuya’s hand, squeezing until she could see again. Fortunately, she wasn’t kept in suspense for long, and the ceiling soon sparkled with different colours. Purple, orange, pink and blue. They glittered, depicting galaxies and stars larger than she could comprehend, twinkling overhead. A calm voice introduced them to the show, titled ‘Life on Earth’, and led them through a journey around the world.

She let the narration wash over her and settle on her like a blanket. The scene changed from outer space to footage of London, shot in first person as if they were a pigeon flying through the city. To enhance the experience, the theatre released different scents, depending on the location shown. They swooped down to the shore, and Touko breathed its scent like she was there, its salty, briny scent.

After London, they flew across the sea to other locations, each with different aromas. France gave off an elegant, floral fragrance, mixed with a hint of baking, while Turkey wafted spices, but she discerned roses too. Pakistan greeted them with incense, dust and spices. The narrator made sure to describe all of the smells with words. Incense permeated in Japan, smokey and woody with a faint whiff of sakura.

Next, the Philippines, with rubbing alcohol, fish, durians and ash, a scent that grew on her. Australia brought bushfire smoke and grass. America, pine and barbeque, smelling like it just rained. Costa Rica, a rich rainforest, with fresh foliage and an unusual scent like syrup. Jamaica. Smoked fish. Incense. Jerk chicken. Nigeria. Coconut. Saltfish. A sweet, nutty background note.

Landscapes rolled into the next, and after Nigeria, they seemed to ascend, facing downward, until they entered outer space, confronted with an image of the Earth, small and large at the same time.

At first, Touko felt insignificant, but then the narrator said, “And yet, we are all connected, never alone. We’re all part of something big.”

She squeezed Byakuya’s hand, and he squeezed back.

* * *

 

“You can look now,” said Touko, and she reached up to remove his work tie from around his eyes.

No longer blindfolded, Byakuya had a full, unobscured view of their living room. Fairy lights snaked around the border of a blanket laid out on the floor. Wine had already been poured into two glasses, a deep purple with a red glow at the surface, and the rest of the wine was stored in a bottle lounging in a bucket of ice. A bowl of beef bourguignon beckoned at them with its aroma, placed close to a box of homemade chocolates.

Piano played from the stereo, one hand ringing out the same tune while the other drawled lower notes. It was an instrumental of an Elvis Presley song, and when the lyrics should have commenced, Touko mouthed the words to herself.

Byakuya strode over to the blanket. Touko stopped and held her breath, wringing two handfuls of the skirt of her checkered dress, which replaced the dress from earlier, now in the tumble dryer. He knelt down, paused, and then shifted, sitting with his legs crossed. She exhaled and joined him by his side. The room smelled of Turkey, thanks to the fragrance sold at the gift shop at the planetarium.

“Would you like some beef bourguignon, Darling?” she asked, already reaching for a fork.

“Yes,” he said.

Touko dug the prongs into a cube of meat and raised it to his lips. He opened his mouth, letting her slide the bit of food in. She withdrew the fork but kept the utensil airborne. Every chew kept her in suspense.

“Is it to your liking?” she asked once he had swallowed.

Byakuya smacked his lips together. Touko tried not to swoon.

“Hey, did you buy this or prepare it yourself?” he asked during a pause from licking his teeth.

“I bought the ingredients from a market, but I used a recipe,” she said. She leaned into him slightly. “You know... the recipe from last time?”

“I remember,” he said. He cupped his chin. “First, we forgot to turn the oven on, and then we somehow burned a hole through the oven.”

“This time, the oven is perfectly intact. I even cleaned it afterwards,” she told him as she sifted through the beef bourguignon, searching for a big chunk of meat. She pierced one and presented it to Byakuya.

He ate it without a word, his brow creased as he stared into space. Touko’s lips pressed together.

“You’re not mad, are you?” she dared ask, but she needn’t have been worried.

“No,” he said, and her shoulders sank a stage. “I was just thinking about how to outperform you by a scale factor of three next month.”

Byakuya regarded her with eyes that held no secrets. No punchline.

“You did well,” he said.

She squeaked and tucked her fists under her chin.

“R-Really?” she said.

“I wouldn’t say so otherwise,” he told her.

His gaze lingered. Colour crept into his face and he turned his head away. After some moments’ thought, however, he turned back, his cheeks a vulnerable shade of red. Byakuya took one of her slender hands in his while he grabbed a glass of wine in his other. Not for himself, though, as she found out when he held it toward her. She blinked before curling the  fingers on her free hand around its stem. Her heart fluttered as their fingers brushed together, and the steady pressure of his hand around hers kept her heart energetic.

He picked up the last glass for himself and raised it between them.

“To us,” said Byakuya.

Touko nodded and brought her glass forward. They clinked together. She pressed the rim of her glass lightly against her lips but didn’t drink yet, watching Byakuya as he tasted the wine. After a few sips, he set down his glass. Wine sheened on his lips, which he puckered faintly, invitingly.

A smile rounded her cheeks and she wiggled closer. Byakuya released his hold on her hand and wrapped his arm around her as she leaned into him from the side, propped up by his body, and the next song rolled in.

She got to taste the wine without drinking it from a glass.


End file.
